1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, and more particularly to the operability thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recent remarkable progress in office automation has lead to the commercialization of various electronic office equipment. Particularly marked is a recent trend to combine this office equipment as a united system.
As an example of such electronic equipment, a plain paper copier has played a principal role in the office automation, as a hard copying machine because of the superior image quality thereof, and is becoming to function as a work station in combination with a cathode ray tube. In this manner the copiers are representative of office automation equipment in the office, and are available in varied forms, from high-class ones having the function of work station to low-class ones designed as a personal copier. This equipment is based on semiconductor technology, of which remarkable progress has resulted in a dramatic improvement in cost performance, i.e. a significant increase in performance far larger than the increase in cost.
Such improvement in performance has however resulted in a new problem in the man-machine interface. Stated differently this equipment has become more difficult to use for the users.
For example, a personal computer is quite easy to operate for those already familiar with it, but a beginner is unable to understand what kind of function is achievable by which key in the keyboard. For this reason, certain recent personal computers or computerized equipment are designed to provide a message on the display screen or a voice message indicating an appropriate key to be operated, in response to a particular command, for example "HELP". Also there are certain machines which do not require the entry of "HELP" command but displays a menu for instructing the use how to operation, in case no command is entered for a predetermined length of time. However a copier is used in a different manner compared with such computerized equipment, and has to be easily usable to anybody in the office. Nevertheless recent copiers are designed for numerous functions such as the setting of copy number, selection of sheet sizes, variable image magnification, automatic density adjustment, selection of automatic or manual sheet feeding, a programmable margin setting by image shifting, automatic two-sided copying, date printing, selection of sorting mode or stacking mode in which the copy tray is cycled at an interval or a colored sheet is interleaved at every ten or five copies, an automatic document feeder mode, a copy charge counting mode etc. In a full-color copier there are further added a selection of full-color or mono-color mode, and an adjustment of color rendition. In this manner the input commands from an operation unit are becoming extremely difficult for a beginner to understand.
FIG. 1 shows an example of an operation/display unit of an ordinary medium-speed copier, which can be roughly divided into six blocks. A block (1) includes seven keys K1-K7 for selecting a same-sized image, a size reduction in one of five steps, or a size enlargement in one step. A block (2) has three selector keys K8-K10 for selecting one of three cassettes U1-U3, wherein a sheet size in a cassette selected by said selector keys is indicated on the panel. A block (3) is used for selecting the automatic or manual density control, wherein a key K13 selects the automatic or manual density control and keys K11, K12 are used for density setting in case manual density control. A block (4) is used for setting the number of copies, which is entered by numeral keys K14-K23. A block (5) includes a copy start key K24, an interruption key K25, and a clear/stop key K26. A block (6) is used for selecting the copy discharge mode, in which a key K27 selects the usual stocker, a key K28 selects a sort mode, and a key K29 selects a collating mode.
In this manner the number of command keys amounts to 29 in such relatively simple machine, and will increase further if the functions are further diversified.
On the other hand, the control circuit of a copier of a former generation is composed of input cams and relay sequences. The counter is also composed of a mechanism, and other command keys are limited to a start key and a stop key. Such copier is quite simple in operation if certain inconveniences in manual setting are ignored, and may be more feasible for the users. In this manner the improvement in the performance has been achieved at the sacrifice of ease of operation, but many highly advanced functions are left unused because the users do not understand the method of operation. Such tendency seems to become more apparent.
Also the designers of the copier tend to incorporate various functions to meet the requirements of various offices and users, but the sheet sizes are often limited in each office, and also the image reduction or magnification in usual offices is conducted in most cases with one or two determined ratios.